Princess In Purple
by PrettyNinjaEmpress
Summary: Shikamaru's a knight of a village that's getting sucked dry of all it's money. what happens when Shikamaru meets a strange girl at night? Rated T for violence in second chapter XShikaInoX
1. Meeting

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, sadly. _

Princess in Purple

These days were hard. Even the king and queen were poorer than normal. As a knight, though, it wasn't in my nature to complain. I was about the only knight that never did… Out loud. It was some time since traders had made a stop in Full Bloom Village, as well as any invaders stopped by. No money for the knights, no seeds for the farmers. One of the worst summer's I've ever seen to tell the truth. It was all too troublesome.

"Shikamaru! Get off your ass!" Damn Naruto. He was always the one wrecking my mellow. I sighed and sat up from the soft grass to look at the annoying blonde man. "What?" I muttered.

"I found some money!" He smiled. I groaned. Is that _all_?

"And?" I said rolling back onto the grass.

"Well, I figured us guys could go to the bar!" Why was he so happy about having five gold pieces to go to the bar with, you ask? My guess was that he thought they had some of the best drinks in all of the village. I didn't really care for it. It all was useless to me.

"Naruto. Please, please, _please _go get a date. It's not like I'm your only friend, is it?"

Naruto sighed. "You're always such a downer, Shikamaru. All you do is sleep, I guess I was thinking that you wanted to have some fun for once."

I put my hand over my face. "C'mon, Naruto…" I groaned. "I really want to sleep right now."

"What?!" the blonde yelled. "That's all you ever do! You need to get out more!"

Why did this have to go on? Why not just take 'no' for an answer, I ask you? That's what happens when you have Naruto Uzumaki for a friend. "I am _outside_ aren't I? Troublesome idiot…" I added with a sigh. Why can't I just sleep?

Naruto grumbled something. "Shikamaru! You're so useless!"

I almost wanted to cry. What happened to peace and quiet? I guess it flew south to get away from me. I guess it hates me. "Naruto…" On the other hand, I really wanted to punch this moron. Sure, he livened things up, but I don't need lively people when I'm trying to sleep.

A short time later, I opened one eye, and saw no one there. I guess he got sick of me. Did I fall asleep? I wouldn't hold it ageist myself if I did, of course. I pushed myself off the ground and looked around, it had gotten cloudy outside, as if it were going to rain. At least something was going right. I did always love the rain, though I'd better head back to the palace. The few knights that live there can eat there…If there's any left that is.

I sighed and rose to my feet and stretched. As I walked past a small pond, I saw a blonde haired girl facing the water. She wore a purple dress, with simple brown shoes. Her hair was down long and was curled at the ends. What was a young girl doing out when it was close to raining?

"Ma'am?" I asked walking toward her. "Shouldn't you be inside?" I added setting my hand on her shoulder. When her head short around, I fond myself thinking she would have the face of some kind of monster, instead she looked like a normal girl.

She said nothing, she just looked at me with a questioning look. "Are you lost?" I asked. She still didn't speak. What is wrong with her? I could just leave her… But if she means something, then I'll have my head chopped off… But did she even understand what I was saying?

The girl looked like someone I've seen before. Even though I couldn't place it, she just had that kind of face. "Do you want me to take you home?"

Her lips formed a small smile. Was something funny about me? Troublesome woman… The girl rose from the edge of the pond and clung to my arm. "What are you doing?" I asked looking down at her. She smiled again. Was she mute, deaf, or both?

What was wrong with this picture? I guess it was the fact that I don't want a girl to like me. It's too much work. "Let go, ma'am." I said shacking my arm lightly. Why in the world was she so strong? She made a small whining noise. Not really what I wanted to hear…

As much as I needed to, I just didn't get girls. Or certain blonde idiots either. Why do all the girl I know have to be clingy and troublesome like this? For example; this maid Sakura is so "crazy" for some Uchiha prince. Why did girl like the guys they liked? I'd rather not think about it to tell the truth. But at the same time, I can't help but wonder why the only girl who clings to me is odd like this one.

I groaned. The odds of me getting lose weren't looking to good. It was clear her will to hold on was larger than mine was… for anything. Everyone always did say I was the first one to give up. At least when it wasn't life or death, and getting a girl off of me wasn't exactly what I call 'life or death'. I guess I was taking her with me.

I just decided to stop taking to her. So I pointed up at the palace, then at me and her. She shock her head 'no'. What? I looked at her with a questioning look, this time. The blonde girl frowned, as if to say 'No, I don't like it there.' but why wouldn't she? Everyone liked the palace, it was beautiful inside and the king and queen didn't care if you fell asleep at the dinner table. Well, that was just what I liked. But I'm sure there's stuff there for young ladies too.

"What's wrong with the palace?" I asked with a small sigh. There was always a problem…

She just shock her head. "What does-" I shock my head like she did "-Mean?" I guess she thought I said something funny. Because she laughed a little bit. Was she sick or something? She didn't have much of a voice, and she had no reasonable answers to anything I asked.

It started to pour rain. I slapped my forehead, and looked down at the still smiling girl. "Let go… I don't wanna get sick." She didn't seem to care.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" a girly voice called running up to me. I looked away for a minute, to see Sakura running toward me. When I looked back down at my arm, the girl was gone. What the?

The pink-haired maid stopped running right before she bumped into me. She panted slightly. I looked at her strangely. "Leather shoes…Not good for running." she smiled, as if I asked a question.

"The queen…asked me to… come get you… for dinner." she said, rising from her hunched position. "She was worried because one of her best knights was running late." she paused. "Is there someone I should know about? I mean her best knight can't be you, can it?" She laughed. How troublesome.

"Did you just make a joke about me?" I asked with a small sigh.

She nodded with a small laughed before pulling me to the palace. When we walked through the main door, Sakura looked like something was wrong with her…damn my curiosity. "What's wrong?" I asked refraining from calling her a 'wench' like everyone else.

"Oh… Nothing. I was just wondering who that girl was that I saw holding onto your arm, that's all. But it's none of my business!" she laughed slightly taking my shoes. Why was she always so happy and energetic? She was a maid after all.

I shock my head and walked off to the dinning hall. As I started to push the door, my eyes drifted to the wall. Above a vase of roses on a dark wood stand, sat a painting of a girl in a purple dress with blue eyes and curled hair. My eyes widened. Was that the girl I saw a few minutes ago?

"Shikamaru?" Sakura's voice popped up, making my jump. "Sorry!" she cried. "I didn't mean too!"

"That's fine…" I sighed. I really wish she didn't do that…

"Okay… But is something wrong with you? No offence, but you've been acting a bit like a old man lately." she stifled a laugh. Again with the jokes I didn't get.

"I'm fine. I just thought I saw something." Sakura cocked her head to the side. "Okay…" she muttered pushing the door open for me. "Hope you have a good dinner, sir." she added.

The door shut on my back. I looked at the table, turkey and other classics. But that wasn't the thing on my mind right now. There was just something about a rain-freaking painting-and dark room that made me feel like something was wrong. What an odd feeling, almost like taking a walk at night through the forest with out a lantern. A creeping feeling. Or maybe it was a 'Naruto's gonna eat all the turkey and I'm really hungry' feeling.

Was it possible that the girl I met tonight was the same on in the painting? No… I doubt it. That painting was at least fifty years old, judging by the layer of dust over it. I groaned. I had to stop thinking about it, it wasn't my strong point figuring out huge mysteries and things like that.

"Shikamaru! Come sit down you've been standing there for ever!" the queen called. She was always one to worry about things such as me getting dinner. I shock my head to get the painting and the meeting the girl thing out of my head and went to go sit by another knight, Kiba. Well, it was him or Naruto…

"Hey, Shika. What was the deal there?" Kiba asked with a turkey leg in his mouth.

"Nothing." I sighed grabbing a roll from the basket. "Why?"

Kiba shrugged. "Just, you're acting stranger than you normally are." Okay, I did want to punch him. But did that mean I was going to? Sadly, no. Kiba has always been so annoying, but not as much as Naruto, at least.

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX_

I was tossing and turning in my bed, there's just something about seeing a painting of a girl that's fifty years old that makes it hard to sleep. I mean, It's not like she was alive that long ago. People here barely live past thirty, anyway.

But that didn't explain why in both the painting and when I saw her, she looked about fifteen, my age. "Shikamaru!" Naruto hissed from the bunk above me. "Stop turning, you keep waking me up!" I swear, he's been mad at me this entire time fore not going to the damn bar with him.

I sighed. Now of all times I had to go to the bathroom. Not only is it not like me to not be able to sleep, it's also unlike me to have to go to the bathroom at this hour. I pushed the covers off and jumped out of the bed. Before I left for the bathroom, I clunked Naruto over the head.

I head him yell from down the long hall. I couldn't help but snicker at him, after all, he did go over board with things. I pushed open the door to the outside bathroom, seeing as I didn't want to go near the kitchen at this hour for indoor ones. One word: rats. What a pain…

After my business, I started walking back to the palace. I hated being out at this hour as much as anyone. As I pulled the door open, I heard a small giggle. Not that I was scared, but the sudden sound did make me jump a little. I turned around and gasped. The girl from before was standing there with a hand over her mouth. What was the deal? I thought she was gone a few hours ago.

"What are you doing here? What happened to-" I shock my head "-Like before?"

She giggled and grabbed onto my arm. "Let go…" I groaned. Last thing I wanted to do right now was fight this…girl to get her off my arm. To tell the truth, she did kind of freak me out.

The blonde looked at me like she wanted to say "Follow me." or something like that. "Why?" I asked ripping my arm free. Finally.

She pointed toward the forest. What in the world? I looked down at her with a strange face. There was no way I was going there now, I even tried to avoid it when the sun was shining bright.

"What do you want from me?" I asked. It just slipped out, I didn't mean to say it. It's not my fault all this weird stuff started happening when she showed up. Of course I never meant to speak like that to a lady… No matter how strange they were.

She gasped and stepped back. "Sorry…" I muttered.

"Shikamaru! You done in there!" I heard Naruto yell. I looked back and saw him walking toward the bathroom, but when I looked back she was gone again. Tomorrow I should ask the queen and king about this…


	2. What Really Happened

_Disclaimer: I'm still not any closer to owning Naruto then I was before._

Princess in Purple

I sighed. What was the deal? Just open the door, Shikamaru… People are gonna think you're scared of Queen Tsunade… Just open the door! I hit the door with my shoulder, which wasn't necessary. The Queen gasped, I guess I almost gave her a heart attack. Troublesome…

"What's the meaning of this?" Tsunade questioned pointing at the door.

I rubbed the back of my head. "Sorry, Queen Tsunade… I just had an issue… that's all." I groaned. Great one Shikamaru, that's how you explain it to the Queen…

"Hm." Tsunade put a hand under her chin. "An issue? What type of issue?"

"Ah… I need to ask you something, but I couldn't force myself to open the door."

"You're a strange man, Shikamaru." She gave a small laugh. "What do you need to ask me?"

"About that old painting by the dining room door. With the flowers in front of it? I was wondering who that girl was…"

"Oh dear." The Queen put her hand back on her chin. "It's been sometime since anyone asked about my daughter."

"Daughter?" Are you kidding? I could've sworn that Tsunade said that she never had a child before… Now she's saying she has, had, a daughter?

"Yes. My baby girl… She met such a sad ending…"

"What do you mean, Queen Tsunade?" I cocked my head to the side. I just had to hear this… For once I did care about something…

"I don't know where to start. I guess from the start, eh?" she laughed lightly. "Well, I guess it all started back… say fifty years ago…"

"_Mother… There are some strange men outside the village gates." A young blonde girl with curled hair asked Queen Tsunade. _

"_Strange men? What do you mean, daughter?" Queen Tsunade asked turning to face the teenage girl. _

"_Men I've never seen before. They were carrying guns and furs, so I guessed they were hunters and trappers at first. But then I saw that they were dressed like royalty, and they pointed one of their guns at a random passer by, and shot him!" _

"_Ah. Don't worry much about it." the Queen sighed. She wasn't in the mood for her daughters crazy stories. _

"_Don't you think someone should do something? They did kill someone…" _

"_Daughter," Tsunade shook her head. "It's nothing." Maybe she had had too many drinks of wine, because the danger wasn't getting through to her. _

_Her young daughter was angered by her mother's lack of concern. "Maybe next time I won't try to help this stupid village!" she yelled before slamming the door to the throne room. "It's not like I care anymore than you!" Tsunade heard her yell. _

_The foolish queen rolled her eyes. I guess that's what wine does to you after thirteen glasses- Tsunade downed another glass - I mean fourteen._

_The shorter blonde girl stormed out of the castle, not even bothering to lift the bottom of her dress up. The thin fabric tore on the bumpy stone road. "Like I need my mother's help. Hell, I just save the village myself. I don't need all those damn knight' s help." she looked around. Was it possible that the villagers, including the ones who saw what she saw, just let them in without identification? _

_She heard a gunshot ring out and took off in that direction. She ended up in front of the small bar as another shot was fired. She gulped and pushed open the door, just a small crack. _

_What she saw scared the hell out of her. A man was lying on the ground holding the back of his head. She saw blood leaking out from the tight hold. She gave a slight gasp and put a hand over her mouth. She followed a pair of legs up to a man's face. It was spattered in blood, the other mans blood. _

_His face held extreme anger, while his hands held a gun. It was one of the men from before. Another man who was standing by the murderer, was also covered in blood, only on his pants. Even the air in the bar smelled like blood and gun powder. She couldn't help but wonder what the motive was… She also couldn't help but wonder why she was still there. _

_She turned and took off running away from the bar. If she had known this guys could get this mad, she wouldn't have bothered coming near them. She would admit that she was naive, but she wouldn't say she was stupid. _

"_She saw it!" the blonde girl looked back and saw the killer in the door. "We can't have witnesses!" her eyes shot open in fear. Were they seriously going to hunt her down and kill her? She swallowed hard as she heard boots banging on the stone road behind her. How was she suppose to get rid of them? "Stop you bitch!" she heard a gruff voice yell, different from the killer's voice. _

_Then she did something she shouldn't have. "Get away from me you asses! I didn't see anything!!" _

_One of the men growled like a bear or mountain lion. She didn't want to know who, she just wanted to get out of there. But where could she go? Her focus went to the huge bunch of trees to her left. 'The forest, that might be dumb enough to work…' she thought making a sharp turn. _

_After that turn was made, she saw a bullet hit the side of a house, thus ricocheting off and hitting her arm. She winced. Of course she knew it was suppose to hurt… she just didn't know it would hurt this much just by bouncing into her. 'These men mean business…' she thought holding her arm. _

_She turned her head back and saw them reloading the gun as they ran after her. 'This isn't good…' she was getting tired, and her arm was killing her. Not that the bullet went into her arm, it just went past it and burned her badly. That didn't stop it from hurting, of course. And the fact that she was wearing heels wasn't doing her good either. She kicked her shoes off, but regretted it right away. The stones under her feet didn't do good to her. _

'_Which is worse… running in heels or running bare foot on rocks…?' she thought as a bullet hit the tree next to her. 'Running bare foot and getting shot at!' she screamed inner-worldly. _

"_Damn it! Next time hit that girl!" the gruff voice from before shouted. _

"_Don't rush me or I'll kill you too!" that was the killer. The princess was starting to panic. She was in the forest, not deep though, and they still weren't turning back. Wouldn't they know it's not smart to be in the forest? She looked up at the sky, since she could still see it, and saw that it was nearing sunset. Either these men were really, really stupid, or they really didn't want a witness, maybe a mix of both. _

_She was starting to loose feeling in her feet. Whether that was good or bad, she didn't know. at least she wouldn't feel the sticks and stones going into her feet as she ran. Another bullet was fired, only this time it didn't hit a tree or rock. It hit the princess in the back. She let out a loud scream as she feel to the dirt. She tried to stand back up, but someone pinned her down. She turned her head to look over the shoulder, it was the man that killed the other man. How did she know? He had blood and a pissed look on his face… like before. _

"_Thought you could get away from me, eh?" he barked into her ear. Her blue eye went wide as she tried to scream again, only nothing came out. She blew her voice out with the previous scream. The man let out a sick laugh. "Not possible, missy." _

"_Sir, this girl might not be worth killing. She no longer has a voice." a tall and fat man commented handing his boss his gun. _

"_Plus, look at those clothes. It's possible that she's royalty." another man said. _

"_I make the orders! Not you two!" The man exclaimed grabbing his gun and rising off of her. He shot her in the back of the head. "They'll never find her out here." he then smirked and turned back to his followers. "Remember what I said about killing you too?" he but another bullet in and shot the fan man in the forehead. _

"_Boss! You've gone mad!" the other said holding his hands up and turning to run as the princess's murderer reloaded. He didn't get far before a bullet hit the back of his head. "I wasn't kidding." the murderer finished dropping his gun to the ground. He turned back the princess's body. "Might as well get rich off this." he shrugged grabbing her necklace, earrings, and tiara. _

The Queen finished with a sigh. "I was dumb back then. Maybe if I had listened to her, she might still be here."

I sighed as well. It was all I could do not to cry. Anyone who would do _that_ to a girl, let alone princess, might as well be the devil himself. "What happened to her body?" I asked suddenly while looking at the ground.

"Eh?" She asked.

"What happened to your daughter's body." I repeated.

"Oh… After a while, I was on a walk and found it. Just bones. But from the dress, I knew it was her. I called my guards and had a proper funeral for her, buried her in that exact spot."

A tear hit the ground from my brown eye, making me look manly (not). "Was her killer ever caught?" I looked up at the queen, she was silent. After a minute, she shook her head, meaning no. I could've sworn my jaw hit the ground. "You're kidding."

She shook her head again. "And he's most likely still alive. One of his followers, who wasn't killed, came and told me, after I fond the body of course, that his master had some kind of spell that would make him live forever and a day."

Was she serious? I couldn't believe it. And after all this time, fifty years, he still hadn't been caught. It wasn't like me to care so much. What in God's name was wrong with me? "What was her name?"

"Ino." Tsunade answered quietly. Ino… What a pretty name. Troublesome, why was it always the young girls with pretty names that have to die? "I know this isn't like me… But I will find that girl's killer."

"Shikamaru! Are you serious?" she asked jumping up from her seat. I gave a slight nod. "Any man who killed a girl so savagely needs to be hunted down and killed!" I exclaimed.

"Oh Shikamaru!" I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, oh shit… I was in a place I didn't want to be, in-between Tsunade's two friends. "If you complete this mission and come back alive, I'll make you king of the valley!" I didn't know if that was good or bad. But nevertheless. This had to be done, no matter how troublesome it was going to be.

"But you will need backup. NARUTO! GET YOU'RE SKINNY ASS IN HERE!" I couldn't cover my ears, seeing as I was still stuck with Tsunade's two good friends. Naruto came running through the door with a piece of ham hanging from his mouth.

"Yes, Queen Tsunade?" Naruto asked, with a mouthful of ham.

"You and Shikamaru here are going to be hunting down my daughter's killer, even though he's immortal. You're goal: Hit him in the heart with this silver arrow." Tsunade let me go and pulled a silver arrow out of her top.

"Is that a good place to keep that?" I asked.

"No. But it's convenient, eh?" she smiled handing the arrow and a bow to me. "I'm not much of an archer." I groaned. She looked at Naruto, "Neither am I!" Naruto yelled.

Tsunade sighed. "You're lucky Princess Hinata of the next land is visiting, otherwise it'd be the dungeon for both of you!" I sighed and put my left hand on my right shoulder as the Queen called for this Hinata.

A girl with purple-ish hair and silver eyes appeared in the door. "Y-Yes, Queen T-Tsunade?" she stuttered. What? This wimp was a great archer?

"Men, meet Princess Hinata Hyuuga. She may be shy, but she hit's the target every time." with that being said, she turned back to Hinata. "You'll be helping these men. and I use the term lightly, with catching my daughter's killer, correct?"

Princess Hinata gave a small nod. "How do we know where this guy is?" Naruto asked swallowing the last of his ham.

"This map is a little outdated, but it should give some clue to were he is." Tsunade smiled pulling a map out of her top and handing it to me. I help it with my index finger and thumb, who knows what this touched… I shoved it in Naruto's hands and he unfolded it and looked it over. "How outdated is this?" he asked. "About forty-nine years." The three of us sweatdropped. Great… "You leave tomorrow!" Tsunade grinned. We all looked at her, "Are you kidding?" was written on our faces. We have a forty-nine year old map to led us… And that's it… Troublesome, don't you agree?


End file.
